A new breakthrough in the fight against premature birth

The study focused specifically on pregnant women with a short cervix, who are at increased risk of premature birth. Bakert and her team compared the effectiveness of two preventive measures: giving progesterone and using a pessary, an elastic ring around the cervix.

“All babies born prematurely face consequences later in life.”

“It turned out that during severe early labour, in women with a cervix shorter than 25 mm, progesterone worked much better. Aside from that, it didn't matter much,” Bjkert explains. These findings highlight the value of progesterone therapy as an effective strategy to prevent preterm birth. The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated, given the serious consequences of premature birth for both children and their parents. “All babies who are born prematurely suffer consequences later in life,” Bakert emphasizes. “Think developmental problems, motor problems, behavioral problems.”

The importance of awareness and changes in health care practice

These findings also have implications for the practice of obstetric care. Bakkert advocates measuring the cervix as standard from now on during 20-week ultrasounds. “A short cervix is ​​a strong risk factor for premature birth. This happens now in some places, but unfortunately it is not yet a norm. We want to offer all mothers with a short cervix the opportunity to take progesterone,” she explains. “

However, this change in health care practice may face some resistance for practical reasons such as time and money. “The 20-week ultrasound has a certain duration and payment. To take the measurement, the woman has to urinate and is examined vaginally. This takes 10 minutes longer. Money has to be saved for this,” explains Bakert. In addition to using progesterone therapy, there are also other ways to prevent premature birth, such as avoiding risk factors such as smoking and minimizing procedures such as curettage. Bijkert stresses the importance of raising awareness about these issues.